Strategy game “from the mysterious East” (it says here)

Some thought went into the design of this, the best-selling British board game of 1977. Everything about it oozes deluxe, Black Forest Gateau sophistication. The lush green baize hints at high-stakes casino gambling, or billiards in the drawing room with brandy and cigars. The silent contemplation required of each player marks it out as an above-averagely cerebral game; Othello is not for the weak-minded. Even the counters themselves, cleverly fashioned in twin sides of black and white, symbolise the yin-yang relationship of good and evil, day and night, master and servant. Well, that, or the bloke who invented the thing was eating liquorice allsorts at the time¹.

Essentially a modern-day take on Reversi², Othello would most likely be whipped out for a quick game amongst the Christmas day dining table detritus of cheeseboard and crackers. A classic “get the most of” game – outflank your opponent’s disks and they become yours, at least until he does the same to you - where Othello scored highly was in its turn-on-a-sixpence twist that allowed a clever player to outwit a novice. Like chess, then, but done and dusted before the Bond film began. Also like chess, unfortunately, people took it far, far too seriously, holding annual World Championships and programming computers to beat grand masters - that sort of thing³.

Ultimately, it remained a limited game. For all the pocket, magnetic and travel editions, Othello never broke beyond the bounds of the two-player experience. No 3D multiplayer version of this on the holodeck of the Enterprise. Plus, as the photo of a grape-munching lady’s hands on the box (such refinement, such elegance!) might have forewarned, parents would nab the game for some past-bedtime grown-up fun. Indeed, it was the delightful simplicity (remember, “a moment to learn, a lifetime to master”) that adults could grasp. What else can explain the laughter we’d hear from downstairs when mum suggested getting the Othello out ‘cos he was nice and hard? (Possibly the fact that the phrase “the ol’ fella” sounds quite similar, but we’ve tried to blank that from our memory.)